Layouts to Share! (finally)

well it's time to finally share some things that I have been working on!  Here are some of my latest layouts....

I'm sitting in my scrapbook room right now and it's raining outside! Finally for that too! I LOVE rainy days...I like the idea of having to stay inside because it's cold and too wet to go out and do anything. Over the summer rain has been sort of non-existant here in North Texas so I think that everyone is welcoming it! Who knows...if it rains tomorrow maybe I'll be able to stay inside and play a little bit more with my pretty papers that I have been waiting to use...

Have a GREAT day!

Happy November!

Yes. November.

I know, I know it's been a long, Long, LONG time since I've last updated my blog.

Not sure why?

Maybe it's because I don't have any Design Team commitments anymore?

Maybe it's because I've been out doing other things?

Maybe it's because I don't think I have anything to share other than life's everyday happenings?

I'm not sure why.  But I'm back!

I've decided (yet again) that even though I don't have any responsibilities for any Design Teams (which is a FIRST for me!) I still can post.  I can post about things that are important to me! 

So....
It might be about one of my cats.  I have three!
It might be about my weekly Weight Watcher visit.  It's happening tomorrow!
It might be about the High School Football Playoffs.  We play on Saturday! GO ALLEN EAGLES!!!
or it just might be about something silly, like my never ending task of trying to overcome the clutter in my so called Craft Room.
Or it could be something about something totally random like why do I have a Cat Shaped Photo Frame with the picture that came in it still there?  I've had the Frame for over 8 years and have never changed the photo! lol

Not sure what's it's going to be about, so I guess I'll just have to take it day by day!

In other words...it's going to be a surprise! to both of us!

Jill

You know how it is when something breaks...

Right?

Well something broke.

Wasn't a big deal, just a pipe. I'll add photos later.

But you know how it is when something breaks right? Something ELSE breaks right after that! Like a dishwasher? lol

Yeah, I'll add photos of that later too.

Lots of stuff going on lately, well especially since the last time i posted anything on my blog.

I went to GASC.

Had a great time visiting with friends, and then i came home.

Dh told me he found water in the garage, but thought it might have been from his car? Nope.

It was the pipe.

I'll post about it later, but we did discover that we had "heated" floors.

Lot's of stuff on my mind lately.

Mainly how people treat others.

What I don't understand is that why when you go to a crop people treat you badly, and tease you, and make fun of you. And yet, they don't know you.

Yep has happened to me not once, but twice at the same store. It's causing me to rethink of where I shop, where I crop and where I will meet my friends.

These people don't know anything about me. They don't know anything that I've accomplished. But yet, it's not nice. And I don't like it. Not one bit.

So...it's time to change.

Change is good right?

Jill

Cricut Contest!

Cricut is having a contest on Facebook so I thought I'd enter...why not right?

I had to upload a project that I made with my Cricut and I have this Halloween Treat Bag that I thought I'd enter. But there's a problem...always a problem with me right?

Well, the problem is that the Contest page only allows you to upload ONE photo of your project. And well, my project is MORE than one photo. So the solution to my problem? Upload the additional photos here and put it in my description that there are more photos of my project on my blog.

One "problem" solved.

Now the next is to figure out what photo to upload to Cricut's Contest Page.

Here are the photos of my Project!

Voting begins next week on Facebook, and yes, I'll be shouting that out to everyone when the times comes!

Oh, the PRIZE! I didn't tell you what the PRIZE is! It's the NEW E2! Which I don't have, and would ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!!

DFW Scrapbookers! Garage Sale this Weekend!

Okay, did I scream that loud enough? lol

Just wanted to give every a heads up that there is going to be a Scrapbook Garage Sale THIS Saturday (April 30, 2011) at Personal Scrapbook in Allen.

The Sale will be from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Here's the address:

Personal Scrapbook
204 North Greenville
Suite 250
Allen, Texas 75002

Hope to see you there!

Jill

It's proving to be a VERY interesting day!

Okay, so some of you might not have agreed with what I just did, and I can live with that.

Yes. I applied for a Design Team Position with "A Company"
No. I never told anyone what "Company" it was with.
No. I did NOT make the Design Team.
Yes. I was offered a Guest Designer Postion for a Month Coming up "After September"

So flash forward to today. I get a phone call.

Yep..asked if I was interested in a "Guest Designer Spot" for later in the year. WOW...didn't know what to say about that one. I mean, I'm NOT good enough for the Design Team, but I'm good enough for a "Guest Designer Spot"? So what do you think I said?

And I repeat...I never said who this "Company" was.

{Jill}

I've been trying....

Yes. I have.

Ever since Rusty Pickle closed thier doors I have been trying out and submitting for other Design Teams. I've submitted for these calla and each outcome is the same.

The answer is: No.

So I guess I don't have what it takes, which is fine.

I guess my work doesn't meet with the eyes of approval of those who make up the Design Teams, which is fine. I guess I'm just an ordinary scrapbooker...which is weird for me because I have won SO many contests in the past, not going to name them but I have. And yes that does sound conceited but, well...it's the truth!

Yesterday was sort of the last straw. I submitted for one last call, and got the answer of "No" again.

So I have decided:

1. I will not be submitting for any more Design Teams.

2. If a company wants me to Design for them than they can contact me...I've had enough of the games. I remember the "old" days when Companies hunted you down, not the other way around.

3. I can go back to being me! I can scrapbook what I WANT to scrapbook with the products that I WANT to use!

4. No more deadlines to be met! If i want to go spend time with friends and have lunch I will. No more having to stay home so that I can meet a deadline. I get to enjoy myself.

and the most IMPORTANT!

5. I get to make Scrapbooking Fun again!


So I can now proclaim that I am on the most Fabulous of ALL Design Teams! A Design Team of ONE! And that's me!


Jill

Thinking...

So I've been thinking lately. A lot! lol. Not about stuff like re-decorating my house, or how much gas is, or how to cut my grocery bill in half (even though those are SOME things that I do think about!).

I was thinking about what projects and layout i have done in the past that I really, Really, REALLY liked. So what do you do when you think about things like that? Well I'll tell you what I did and what I'm going to do.

What I did was go to Two Peas In a Bucket and I looked through my entire gallery. There are LOTS of projects and layouts in there that I "like", but there are also some that I REALLY "LIKE".

What am I going to do? Simple. Share them again! I know, I know, it's Easter Weekend and there's SO much other stuff that could be doing, but the house is quiet, Simon and Sarah are gone and all the kitties are sleeping. So I'm going to share!


This is a wall hanging that I made. The photo? Well that's my little girl who is now 16. The hands? that's me. Why is it special to me? It reminds me that once she was SO so tiny...if you saw her now you'd say wow! Well she is 16, but she's also just over six foot tall.


Yes, this photo was staged. I had my cat in on it too! Well it wasn't so hard, after all Joey loved me very much and I asked him if he would sit in the chair for a few minutes so that I could do a "kitty photo shoot". Actually he really couldn't say anything about it because I was going to do it anyway! lol. Why do I love this layout? Joey passed away on my Birthday in 2009. Every picture of him is precious to me! When Joey first came to live with me when he was a kitten he did not like me one bit! But after Skippy, his brother passed away in 2003, I think that Joey knew I needed a friend and that was him! I could go on and on about Joey cat, but I'll say that for another blog post.


These photos were taken of Sarah on THE day that she learned to ride her "Little Mermaid" bike without traning wheels. Her face says it all...she was "Determined". Which is why I LOVE this layout! Don't ask about what happened to the training wheels...I will never live that one down, and my daughter doesn't let me forget what happened either. Maybe I should share that in a later blog post too!


The photos in this layout just sort of happened, which is why I love this project so much! Sarah and I went to the Lake with a neighbor and her son. While the kids were playing in the water, this DragonFly just came over and sat on Sarah's hand, it would sit on her toe, her knee. Whatever was out of the water, the DragonFly went there. It would fly around for a little bit, and then come back to Sarah. And only Sarah.


Every scrapbooker at one point in there scrapbooking decides to do a "Home Sweet Home" sign. And yes, I have done one too. Okay, I've done like five of them, but I think this is my favorite! One color that I do not like at all is Blue. Yes, Blue. I don't like it. But I have to tell you this, my car is blue, my bike is blue, my bathroom used to be blue, and I like to scrapbook with blue. But I don't like blue. So why did I make a "Home Sweet Home" sign with Blue? Beats me, but I love the way it turned out with the black and the cream, and the little birds and jewels and the ribbon. Maybe I should re-think this whole blue thing?


This past year when I went to Creative Escape I took part in a Circle Journal. I wanted to make mine special to me and about something that I really wanted to Journal about and take pictures of things that were special to me. And this is what came out of that thought. The album title was called "Well, Isn't that Special" "5 Random Things". Each person that received my JournaL had to go through there house and find FIVE random things that they had and tell me why they were special to them. The album came back to me when we went to CE in August and let me tell you, everyone loved the subject! And something else came out of this also. It showed me that I really need to make myself a personal album of all the things that I have, not just five, and journal about why they are special and important to me!


These photos are special to me AND to sarah! You see, Sarah LOVES otters. She thinks they are cute and entertaining. One day when Sarah and I went to the zoo she found this little seat that was perfect for her to sit and watch the otters. I think we stayed there in that one exhibit for well over an hour, just watching and wondering. Wondering what the otters were going to do next!


Pooh Bridge was called Pooh Bridge my husband. The jouranl for this layout is hidden under the second photo. It tell the story of going to the Bridge out in the woods and having leaf races with sticks. Okay, so dh is from England, and this was exciting to him (at the time). Me? I just thought it was a pretty place!


You ever have those days where all of a sudden your husband decides to act like a kid? And says, "Hey let's go to the water park?" Well, this was that day! And this is how I documented it! Dh works really hard, and to have him take a day off from work during the summer is really special! And to watch he and dd goof off in the water was really special to me! There are photos on all sides of the cube, showing them in all there goofiness, and having "Fun in the Sun".

So there you have it, just a few of the projects that I have made in the last few years that are truly special to me! Sometimes it's nice to go back and see what you've done, to reminisce and to see a technique (or two) that you used to do and then say to yourself, hey, I wanna do that again!

Now, since the house is still quiet I think I'm going to go and scrapbook a page or two!

Have a Great Weekend!

Jill

April Showers?

Bring lots of stuff going on in the Cornelius House. Haven't been on much do to some stuff going on here...mainly....

Painting.

Painting.

MORE Painting.

Luckily I am NOT doing it!~ lol

Been busy getting stuff ready in the house to have the painters come in. Now that it's over I'm busy getting stuff cleaned up! It's a little bit of a mess but nothing I can't handle! Just glad the painting is done. I have a bathroom now that is one color!

Next project? Tiling in the kitchen. But that's not going to happen until the store gets more tile in stock.

would LOVE to post more, but I have to clean!

Anyone want to clean for me???

Please Vote For Me!

Okay, so yes I have decided to use my blog to reach out to everyone!

The Brave Girls Club is having a contest to win Registration to one of their WONDERFUL, AMAZING, LIFE-CHANGING Online Workshops! Soul Restoration 2. I really, Really, REALLY would LOVE to win registration so that I could participate in this class but I need YOUR help!

So I am Calling ALL of my FRIENDS! Because,I need your help! If you wouldn't mind could you please send an email to kallie@bravegirlsclub.com with my name (Jill Cornelius) in the subject line. Your email will count as a vote for me and I really can use ALL the votes I can possibly get! Thanks everyone! Voting ends tomorrow!

So please! please! please! send a vote in for me!

Thanks!

And if you would like to read about my experience with Soul Restoration 1 I posted about it yesterday!

Thank you for reading this, thank you for your vote, and thanks for being a friend!

Jill

A Little Bit of "Soul Restoration"

I only told a few people that I was taking this class.

Why? Well, how do you tell someone that you're going to take a Class called "Soul Restoration." I'd be faced with all of these questions and I didn't know how I would answer them.

Their Question: So what's the class about?
My Answer: I don't know.

Their Question: If you don't know what it's about then why are you taking it?
My Answer: I don't know. Maybe I'm taking it so that I won't feel like I'm left out of something.

Their Question: Why do you think you need to take a class that "everyone" else is taking?
My Answer: Because maybe I will learn something.

Their Question: Do you think that you will be able to take an online class? Haven't you taken others that weren't good, or that you didn't like? Are you SURE that you want to do this again?
My Answer: Yes. I'm sure. I think I need to do it for me.

And the last answer was all it took.

I needed this class for me. I needed to restore myself and I was hoping that this class would help me do that.

Okay, so the title also intrigued me too!

I wondered what would be taught, what would/could Melody show us and teach us that we didn't already know? And the answer is A LOT!

Soul Restoration taught me SO so much about myself. It taught me to understand why I did certain things, and why I had certain beliefs. It taught me to overcome my fears, to go face to face with everything. To bring "scary" things out into the open and learn how to over come the "scariness". And to learn why they were scary in the first place.

Soul Restoration allowed me to go back through my life and see how far I have come. What I have accomplished,my journey (the good AND the bad) what I have done,my struggles, my celebrations, EVERYTHING! And I discovered that I have done a lot!

Soul Restoration taught me forgiveness. Yes...forgiveness. I have forgiven people that have hurt me in the past because that is the past. There is NOTHING You can do about the past! That's why it's called the PAST (lol). I'm looking towards the future now and how I can improve that future.

You know it's sort of funny, well to me at least. Every week I would look forward to the lesson that was going to be presented to us. I thought, "what are we going to do this week!" It was exciting! And I listened to EVERY word in the videos, sometimes three or four times! Over and over and OVER! Why? Because what we were taught was true.!

Yes, it was all true!

So now the question is Why Should YOU take this class? And my answer is....

Everyone can use a little Soul Restoration.

Good Morning and Happy March! (okay, so I'm a few days late!)

Just thought I'd pop on this morning and and try and update my blog a little bit! It seems that there is always something in my life that is being neglected and well lately it's my blog, my scrapbook room, my stuff! lol. But I'm going to fix all that stuff real soon!

A LOT has happened since I last posted. That was February! February is a VERY special month to me mainly because that is when my "little" girl was born! Sarah celebrated her 16th Birthday on February 7th. She had over a few (ten or twelve) friends, we went to dinner at Hibachi Rock, and then just came home and had a little bit of cake and ice cream.

So what am I NOT telling you?

Well really nothing, but you know how it is when you get teenagers together? You NEVER know what they are going to do! All of them were in my kitchen talking on one cell phone to one person. It was funny to see. They were entertaining themselves. And they had fun! And yes, Simon was very entertained by all of this!

Here's her Cake:

Isn't it PRETTY! She originally wanted me to make her a Birthday Cake mainly because I've NEVER made her one. But then we saw a similar cake to this one and I said that if she wanted that one for her 16th Birthday then that is what we will get. And it was BEAUTIFUL (and yummy too!).

Makes me sort of want to take up Cake Decorating!

Then if a 16th Birthday wasn't enough we had another BIG even with Sarah (No Dad, she didn't get a car, or her Driver's License!). Sarah got a JOB! Okay, it's part-time because that is all the high school students are allowed, part-time. But that's okay with her. And I told her that as long as she keeps up her grades then she can work. It's been okay so far with one exception. Having to have her at work at 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday Morning. I was so NOT happy about that one. But you know...I'll just have to adjust my sleep! lol

Up until the last time I posted until now it's been mainly taking Sarah to work, picking up Sarah from work, Weight Watcher Wednesday, making dinners, stuff like that. And now it's Spring Break...which means everyone gets a break except for me! UNTIL TODAY!

Today I am going to the Cricut Stampede in Frisco. The main reason I signed up for the event is because one of my MOST favorite Designers is coming! Teresa Collins! I can't wait to see her! As some of you remmeber I did go out for her Design Team and was a finalist. I didn't make it, but that doesn't amke a difference with Teresa! She is one of the most down to earth people that you could meet! REALLY she is!

Here's a photo of me and Teresa from last year!


SO Excited to see her!

I'll be doing a review of the event when I get back!

Have a GREAT Weekend! I know I will!

Jill

Here in Texas we do things a "little" bit different!

This is my neighborhood.

Snow covered.

Icey.

Quiet. (except for the hum of the vacuum cleaner)

As everyone in the Country knows...well, since Super Bowl is "near" here this week, Dallas got snow.

It started on Monday, January 31st. I brought my daughter and her friend to school just like always...it was going to be a BEAUTIFUL day, because well, it was a MONDAY! I knew the weather was going to go downhill fast, and was heading to the store for groceries to keep us fed for the next week. I didn't think the bad weather would actually hit us until Wednesday....I was so, SO wrong!

During the late hours of Monday Night and early hours of Tuesday Morning the ice came...and it hit us. I didn't think it was that bad, honestly. But there I sat on Tuesday morning waiting to see what the news was with school. I sat and sat and sat. And then I saw, Allen ISD is closed. Okay, I'll go back to bed, and that's what I did.

We watched the weather all day on Tuesday thining it couldn't get any worse. But you guessed it, it did. The roads were all iced over and nothing was moving...well, 18-wheelers were, but everything at my house? We were at a standstill. Noone in, Noone out. Fine, that's just one day right? I continued to watch the News to see what was happening...also checking into Facebook. And that is when I saw it. Allen ISD is closed. That meant two Snowdays in a Row (okay, Ice Days). We have NEVER, since Sarah has been in school (10th Grader here now) have had TWO Snow (Ice) Days in a ROW!

Wednesday Morning...guess what we woke up to. SNOW. Just a dusting. That's what they said we could expect. Yeah, dusting. I posted some pictures of the "dusting" that we got. Yeah...dusting.

To make a REALLY long story short...School has been closed since Monday. Every day at around 5:15 i'd get a phone call from the school or email, saying that school would be canceled the following day. We are up to FOUR right now. Wonder what's going to happen next week!

ALMOST forgot!

Here in Texas the teenagers are pretty resourceful! Or could it be the parents are, and had to figure a way out to entertain their teenage sons! I went out to take some photos of my snow covered yard the other day and saw some kids being taken for rides on a big raft and being pulled by an SUV. Then I saw the neighbor kids taking rides on another neighbors ATV.

Here are some pics!






I saw the Raft go down the street and secretly hoped it would be back quickly! I REALLY wanted to go for a ride! And I'd do it too!...But alas....they didn't come back. Wonder if I can talk Simon into go to the store for a raft and some rope...those would be some AWESOME pictures!

Does It Snow in Texas???

Okay, so every now in then I look at the box to the left to see who visits me, where they are from, and what they are searching for. One of the Topics I see most is, "Does it Snow in Texas?"

The Answer: Yes.

Proof is in the photos....

Isn't he a cute kitty!

Okay so I LOVE cats! Always have, always will!

I LOVE to scrapbook my cats. Always have, always will!

So yesterday I was surfing arounda and found this cat-> -> -> -> ->
and I KNEW I had to have him come visit my blog for a little bit! Turn up your volume, he purrs! Move the mouse around, he follows it. Put the mouse above his head he reaches for it. Put the mouse on his tail, and it flops up and down.

Okay, so at least I thought it was CUTE!

Have a GREAT DAY!!!

Jill

Happy Wednesday!

Those that are close to me know that Wedneday is my MOST FAVORITE day of the week! Yes, it ranks up there above Friday! What's so special about Wednesday? It's Weight Watcher Wednesday of course!

Weight Watcher Wednesday comes every week! It's the day that I get to drive to my Local (ok, not local for me) WW Meeting. You might be thinking what's so great about going to Weight Watchers. You're going to get weighed? Your going to a meeting? You're going to see if what you did (or didn't) do showed up on the scale? Yes, Yes, and Yes.

Weight Watcher Wednesday is MORE than that to me! Yes, I go get weighed and I see the results of my efforts for the week. Yes, I go to my meeting, and I learn something new (almost) every week. And after reading that you might still think what is SO great about going to your Weight Watcher meeting?

It's simple. It's the friends that I have made while I have been going. Sure, I drive to my meeting alone. And sometimes I walk through that door alone, but I don't attend my meeting alone. I meet a LOT of friends there that are going through the same thing I am. They are battling the same issues, and we sort of help each other through it.

My WW friends are VERY, very Special to me!

There are about eight of us...I say eight because sometimes that number changes! But we meet at the meeting. Okay, sometimes we meet in the parking lot BEFORE the meeting. Then we walk into the meeting, grab our seat (yes, we all sit together!) and we weigh in. We are a very entertaining bunch, and well to be honest, I don't think our Meeting would be the same if we weren't there! You NEVER know what one of us is going to say, or do!

After our meeting if it's nice outside we go for a walk. Now if it's cold? Forget it! We don't do cold. Or REALLY hot for that matter! After our walk we go to lunch and we recharge for the week.

It's NOT just a "Weight Watcher Meeting", what we have is a "Weight Watcher Day"! We ALL look forward to seeing each other every week! we check up on each other, text each other, we support each other! We are friends that were brought together through Weight Watchers.

So you see Weight Watchers works in MORE than one way! Weight Watcher's brought me to a great bunch of friends!

Have a GREAT day!

Jill

Starting Over.

That's what it feels like. Starting over. Yes, it's a New Year. Well okay, not really because we are like 22 days into it and I'm just getting things really back to normal here (whatever "normal" is!).

December came and went FAST! And it was a busy time, for everyone! But you know I honestly don't know what I did during that month, other than get ready for Christmas. So HAPPY that's it's January. Back to "Normal".

The decorations were put up in the attic early this year. If it was up to me and my daughter they would still be out. And yes, I would still turn on my christmas lights. My neighbors might not be happy, but I would! I remember one year that I left my Christmas Tree up through February. I even turned the lights on. One of my neighbors asked me then when I was going to take it down. Because you know, Christmas was over. I told her soon....(maybe?). That neighbor moved away...wonder why? I really don't think me keeping my Christmas Tree had anything to do with!

I've also decided to change a few things. No more DARK Background. No more BRIGHT Background. No more BUSY Background. Just plain old me. For awhile at least until I find something that I really, REALLY like! To those of you that know me....well I know that's not normal either! lol

Normal.

Nah...why be Normal!

I'm just going to have fun being ME!

Have a GREAT DAY!

Jill